Westminster dog show gets ready for its star turn in NYC

As a trainer in Ring 1 smoothed a tuft of his terrier’s pitch-black coat, hundreds of other trainers and dogs scurried around Madison Square Garden on Tuesday as the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show entered its second day of competition.

Monday’s top winners: a hound named Kiarry's Pandora's Box, an affenpinscher named GCH Banana Joe V Tani Kazari, an Old English Sheepdog named Bugaboo's Picture Perfect and a bichon frises named GCH Vogelflight's Honor To Pillowtalk.

Banana Joe’s handler, Ernesto Lara, told the AP that the affenpinscher has a big head -- and not only literally. "He has a huge impression of himself," Lara said.

Compared to Banana Joe, who now has three consecutive best-of-breed honors under his collar, Bugaboo’s Picture Perfect is a rookie -- the 20-month-old has competed in only three other dog shows.

Newness aside, his breeder and handler, Colton Johnson, described Picture Perfect, whose nickname is “Swagger,” as “such a cool dog."

A couple of pooches to look out for Tuesday?

There’s Oscar, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, who competed last year and spends his free time accumulating Internet fans. Oscar and his owner David Moskowitz, who runs a blog about the dog, had to spend several days at a puppy-friendly hotel after Superstorm Sandy hit in late October.

Then there’s Juliette, a Bernese Mountain Dog, who traveled to Newtown, Conn., as part of a dog therapy team after the school shooting there.

Although primping is a must, the show draws the line at cosmetic surgery and steroids.

And amid all the prestige, a bit of practicality: The city’s “pooper-scooper” law is in effect, as is its $100 fine.